No yesterdays on the road

http://www.globalpolitician.com/21071-eastern-europe-russia


there's one! I don't think it's so much the high street branding which suffers so much as the details in administration.

  alex Jun 29, 2008 8:29 PM

Hmm. This is an interesting article. I guess Western cultural hegemony and the removal of all 'obscure' scripts and other such useless cultural identifiers is to be desired after all. Why couldn't I have seen that before, having passed through all these countries with 'disintegrating' societies and 'dismal' living standards, governed by 'venal and acrimonious' politics and 'fragile' national identities. Frankly I don't know why we even bother with different cultures or identities, they're clearly overrated anyway: the 'last vestiges of long-gone grandeur'. Why don't we just measure progress by the number of cars we drive, how many Big Macs we can cram into our mouths and, while we're at it, lets all worship at the same altar of capitalism, speaking the same language and writing the same soul-less, identity-less, culture-less thoughts. Oh wait...

  climberchris Jun 30, 2008 8:55 PM

Well funnily enough, that's what these countries all want. Westernisation is to buy into all these 'ideals'. These countries lament their position in the world and readily seek to rebrand themselves into bland, souless mirror images of what they see as the epitome of modernity. Personally, i think it's far more important to keep an essence of one's own culture and to praise the differences but I expect when you see that some of your own differences (such as script) act as shackles to your own 'ascension' then you're ready to turn your back on hundreds of years of history for the sake of a big mac.

Bear in mind that this was an article generated in the US. They'd like to think, with their own 'successful' homogeneity that the rest of the world would prosper under the same umbrella. i suspect they're mistrustful of the richness within europe and its close boundaries. I am not condoning the article, just pointing out the opinion. Being, by birth and upbringing, more of a confused mass of 'different cultures or identities' than the average citizen, I deplore the bulldozer culturalisation approach. But thank you, of course, for making it sound like I'm all for this standardisation of the lowest common denominator. Perhaps I shouldn't bother deepening my understanding of greek (not a latin script- how shocking!) or learning turkish. If banks can't accomodate cyrillic script then they should bloody well start to.
What ever happened to exchanging ideas as opposed to making personal attacks. Unexpected, but perhaps it's because you feel as strongly as I might. Perhaps from your own appreciation of these differences as opposed to your own confusion as to identity and place in the world.

  alex, again. Jul 14, 2008 11:19 PM

OK, so I am sorry for implying that you are for this buldozer culturalisation. I was definitely attempting to lambast the article, not the messenger. I don't believe in personal attacks and apologise if it read like that. I haven't removed the comment so others can see what the problem is, but am happy to do that if you would prefer. I would like to repeat: this was not meant as a personal attack "alex, again"!<br><br>I am aware that it is easy for us, with our Western privileges, to disagree with the homogenisation of culture but at the expense of condescension. From another point of view, it is all to easy to look like I'm taking the old, almost colonial outlook of "look at those quaint customs, aren't they so endearing". Our attempt to maintain cultural diversity could quite simply be construed as an attempt to hold onto our privilege and deny progress to those quaint folks in the "other", developing world. Who am I to say that another culture, country, people or whomever shouldn't have access to the same benefits as me, or to the same lifestyle? It is too easily construed as yet another Imperialist attempt to dictate the desires and development (whatever we take that to mean) of the rest of the world. And perhaps that is what it is?

  climberchris Jul 14, 2008 11:42 PM

hi sair missing u lots hope your having fun i like your pictures love u
JAK

  jak Nov 10, 2008 7:27 PM